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October 13th, 2011
09:53 PM ET
Revealing "The Mexican Suitcase"
His photographs are some of the most iconic images of war taken during the first half of the 20th century. And for the longest time, we thought we'd seen all that Robert Capa had to offer. That is, until the "Mexican Suitcase" turned up. It "revealed" some little-known secrets behind the legendary photographer's work. Nick Glass gives us a glimpse.
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Many so-called war photographers took part in fairly obvious propaganda efforts on the side of the pro-Communist Spanish republic, which received the bulk of its foreign armament from the Soviet Union. Recruiting for the famous "International Brigades" was headed by none other than Josip Broz "Marshal" Tito at Stalin's bidding. It is regrettable that propaganda materials such as those of Capa continue to be used to inappropriately characterise the nature and outcome of the Spanish Civil war. Had Franco's anti-communist coalition not prevailed, Spain would almost certainly have become a sort of Soviet client state.